| The export of hazardous waste from Canada in the form of used computers and electronics should be banned, according to an international environmental group.
And government should also legislate the recycling of electronic waste in Canada, says a local e-waste recycling company.
Clement Lam, a representative of the Basel Action Network, says his organization recently discovered computer waste from Canada in a dumping ground in China.
He explains that Canadian companies export old computers to foreign countries because it’s less expensive than recycling them at home, but the health and environmental damage caused by such practices can be devastating.
Chinese companies salvage parts for money, but Clement says he saw mountains of scrap electronic parts – many of which contain toxic material – dumped on the banks of a river near the town of Guiya. He also saw unprotected workers cracking open lead-laden computer monitors to obtain copper, exposing themselves to toxic dust, then dumping the glass where toxins can leach into the groundwater
"It’s a serious, serious health risk for the workers and residents – and it’s already so bad that the ground water is so polluted, they can’t drink the water," Lam says. "Circuit boards litter the riverbank so thick, you have to dig down two inches before you reach the soil."
Canada is a signatory to the Basel Convention, which controls the dumping of toxic waste, but Lam says enforcement needs to be stepped up to stop shipments of hazardous e-waste, which includes computers and electronic parts.
"The short-term solution is to ban all computer waste exports to places like China," Lam says. "The long-term solution is to make computers non-toxic."
Environment Canada spokesperson Suzanne Leppinen says the federal government is looking into the issue.
"We do have some concerns about the increasing volume of waste computers and we are working with Canada's information industry on a take-back program," she says. "We are working to amend our regulations and we will be meeting with stakeholders."
Clayton Miller, a spokesperson for Calgary-based Maxus Technology, says his company recently opened a facility in central Alberta that has the technology to recycle e-waste in an environmentally safe manner. The challenge, however, is encouraging companies and individuals to stop treating their old computers as garbage – one way to do that is through legislation.
"What would be (ideal) is e-waste banned from landfills and a process set up much like bottling," Miller says. "As it stands, e-waste recycling is not a profitable business."
Miller says his company is working with Alberta Environment to develop a collection strategy, and is working with municipalies to set up e-waste round-up days. It is also making an effort to teach companies that recycling comes with financial and ethical benefits.
Miller says that once people understand the dangers of e-waste, they tend to support recycling. And while there may be a cost attached, inaction has its price, too.
"This is a very new concept. We’d like companies... to think ‘How many clients (will) you lose when they find out you’re doing these bad things in China?’
Lam says Western countries need to start taking responsibilities for the toxins in their products.
"You can’t just pass on the responsibility to a Third World country because it’s cheaper." |
